Tell us a little bit about Somfy Systems and the products you make.

Somfy makes motorized products for home interiors and exteriors, whether that’s a motorized curtain or a retractable awning. Somfy products make life easier for our customers, allowing them to control their awnings, pergolas, shades, blinds, and curtains with ease. Our products are great for residential homes as well an incredibly energy efficient commercial solution. They’re great for the home design obsessed DIYer and weekend renovator, as well as the smart home obsessed tech guru.

Our range of controls and sensors also makes it simple to control Somfy motors; with the press of a button, you can control several shades. Radio Technology Somfy®(RTS) products can easily integrate with your existing home automation system and you can even control your home motorization from your smartphone or tablet with the new myLink app. Our products are all about building a happier home, and simplifying the lives of our customers.

You recently introduced myLink, tell us what myLink is and how does it work?

The myLink™ is a great product that makes Somfy motorization even simpler. The myLink is a small device you can plug into an outlet that allows you to control your Somfy motorization directly from your favorite mobile device. For instance, you can now open your blinds in the morning by rolling over and pressing a button on your smartphone. The myLink controls all RTS products, meaning you can control your window coverings with the same app you use to retract your awning.

What can the myLink app do?

The myLink gives you control for your RTS home technology, meaning you can control your window coverings, awnings, pergolas, and rolling shutters directly from your phone or tablet. The interface is intuitive and the app is quick to setup, meaning you can quickly start controlling your home automation from the palm of your hand.

You can also set up schedules for just one motor or for a grouping of motors. Want the shades in your bedroom to open at sunrise? You can set a schedule and never oversleep again. If you want to sleep in on a lazy Sunday, you can program different schedules for different days. The app has amazing flexibility in allowing users to conform Somfy home automation to their lifestyle. It also allows for remote access, meaning that if you forgot to lower your blinds in the morning you can just pull out your phone and control your home from wherever life takes you.

Why did you see a need for the myLink app?

At Somfy we’re all about making motorization as easy and convenient as possible. With so many consumers owning a smart phone or tablet, it seemed like a natural extension to create an app. As things shift in a more mobile and portable direction, it only seemed smart to put the power of Somfy right into the customer’s hand.

How many products can the myLink control?

The myLink can control 5 RTS channels, which can be a single motor or a group of motors. It’s ideal for zone control and has easy scalability so you can always add more myLinks to your system.

What is the process to setup myLink, is it a DIY job?

The process to setup myLink is incredibly easy and quick. First, you need to make sure your RTS motorized products are operational from at least one remote or controller. Then simply plug in your myLink close to your RTS motorized products and download the myLink app.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, a setup wizard will take you through the process of pairing your myLink with your motorized products. If you have a pre-programmed favorite “my” setting on your remote it can be transferred over to the app, so you can keep your home motorization personalized. There’s help every step of the way, from the setup wizard within the app to tutorial videos on the Somfy Systems site taking you through the process.

What’s one of the most interesting aspects of the myLink?

What makes myLink such a great product is the level of convenience that it brings to the lives of our customers. No matter how tech-savvy you are, the app is incredibly user friendly. The system is also totally wireless and scalable, meaning it fits with ease into users’ everyday lives.

It’s also a great entry point to home automation since you can create scenes and timed events. For instance, you can create a scene where your drapes and blinds open simultaneously with just a tap of the app. Once you’ve created a few scenes, you can create timed events with the schedule function. You can have your blinds open automatically at sunrise Monday through Friday, yet stay closed until noon during the weekends. This personalization allows the myLink to work to make your life more convenient, no matter what your schedule entails.

What are the benefits of using the myLink?

One of the major benefits of the myLink is the ability to simply and intuitively control your home automation from the smartphone you most likely carry on you at all times. Window coverings in particular offer so many benefits for the home, whether it’s UV protection, privacy, energy efficiency, or just protecting your furniture and valuables from the sun. Unfortunately, it’s easy to forget to close your blinds or retract your awning, especially when you’re running out the door.

The myLink app makes it easy to control your home motorization from anywhere, allowing you to really take advantage of the inherent qualities of your window coverings and outdoor solutions. You can open or close your window coverings manually, or set up scenes and schedules so you don’t even have to think about protecting your home. It’s just another aspect of how Somfy strives to make life more convenient for our customers

More and more things are being controlled with phones and tablets. In the next few years do you see phones and tablets as possible replacement to dedicated controls?

While mobile control is a huge point of convenience, the dedicated remote is probably here to stay. Having a dedicated remote for an appliance live in the same room can actually make life much easier when controlling your home. The future is probably closer to a combination of both dedicated controls and mobile applications. Instead of relying on just one form of control, consumers will have the choice of whether to reach for a remote or open an app. It’s just one way to make people’s lives, technology, and homes more convenient.

Lauren Clark

Lauren Clark is the Product Manager of Controls for Somfy Systems. Ms. Clark manages the development, launch and support of new and existing products within Somfy Systems' extensive control range. Learn more about the power of Somfy at SomfySystems.com

About SomfySomfy is the world’s leading manufacturer of specialized motors and control systems for retractable awnings, rolling shutters, interior shades, blinds, projection screens for residential and commercial use.

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